86R31442 SME-D

By: Allen H.R. No. 1540

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Proud members of the South Central Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority are gathering in Austin on May 14, 2019, to celebrate Alpha Kappa Alpha Day at the State Capitol; and

WHEREAS, The nation's first Greek sorority for African American women, Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded as a social and service organization on January 15, 1908, by Howard University undergraduate Ethel Hedgeman Lyle and 19 other students; these inspiring women are today known as "the Twenty Pearls"; and

WHEREAS, The sorority seeks to cultivate and encourage high scholastic and ethical standards, to promote unity and friendship among college women, to improve the social stature of women of all ages, and to be of service to all mankind; a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Alpha Kappa Alpha serves people around the world through the efforts of nearly 300,000 members in over 1,000 chapters located in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Dubai, and Liberia; and

WHEREAS, For more than a century, the group has made a positive difference with its important work in the areas of civil rights, education, economic empowerment, and health care; under the leadership of the sorority's 30th international president, Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover, Alpha Kappa Alpha continues to focus on the personal and professional development of its members, on the bonds of sisterhood, and on its domestic and international servant leadership; and

WHEREAS, Alpha Kappa Alpha has long remained at the forefront of effective advocacy and social change, and its members' efforts have made an important contribution to the goals of equality and equity for all citizens of the world; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas Legislature hereby recognize May 14, 2019, as Alpha Kappa Alpha Day at the State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to the sorority's visiting delegation.